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Ollie Robinson and Dom Sibley to face New Zealand in Test Series warm-up match

Ollie Robinson and Dom Sibley are the two England-capped players in a 12-man squad that will be overseen by ECB elite performance pathway coach Richard Dawson; England take on New Zealand in three Tests, starting at Lord's on June 2 live on Sky Sports

Ollie Robinson
Image: Ollie Robinson has been picked to play New Zealand in two warm-up matches but was left out of England's first Test squad

Ollie Robinson and Dom Sibley have been selected for a County Select XI squad that will play New Zealand in a four-day warm-up match in Chelmsford from Thursday.

Robinson and Sibley are the two England-capped players in a 12-man squad that will be overseen by ECB elite performance pathway coach Richard Dawson.

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James Cole gives an insight into how the England Test side may look when facing New Zealand in June

Robinson was omitted from England's first Test squad to face New Zealand on June 2, with new managing director of England men's cricket Rob Key saying he "wasn't in a position" to be selected after struggling for fitness in the early part of the summer. He bowled 18 wicketless overs for Sussex in the rain-affected warm-up against the Black Caps at Hove.

Sibley earned the last of his 22 Test caps against India at Lord's last August, but the Warwickshire opener has been in decent nick so far this summer, averaging 43.25 with a top score of 142 not out from his six appearances.

Dom Sibley, England (AP Newsroom)
Image: Dom Sibley averages 28.94 in his 22 Tests for England, with five fifties and two hundreds

Also getting a chance to impress the England selectors is Kent opening batter Ben Compton, the leading run-scorer in Division One of the LV= Insurance County Championship this season with 878 runs at an average of 109.75.

The squad was selected from the pool of available players following consultation with the first-class counties.

Dawson said: "We have selected a strong squad of players who are in form and who deserve the opportunity to test themselves against high-class international opposition.

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"Matches like this provide a valuable opportunity to see how the selected players handle a step up from county ranks and I am looking forward to working alongside them.

"I would also like to thank the first-class counties for their collaborative approach during a busy period."

County Select XI squad: Jack Blatherwick (Lancashire), Michael Burgess (Warwickshire), Ben Compton (Kent), Ben Gibbon (Worcestershire), Nick Gubbins (Hampshire), Tom Haines (Sussex), Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire), Ryan Patel (Surrey), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), Jamie Porter (Essex), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire).

New dad Williamson to join New Zealand reinforcements

Kane Williamson will join up with New Zealand's squad in England in the coming days after the captain and his wife Sarah Raheem welcomed their second child into the world.

Williamson posted a picture of the new baby boy with mum and daughter Maggie on social media, writing: "Welcome to the whanau little man!"

Williamson left the Indian Premier League early to return home for the birth and will now join the Black Caps in England in the lead-up to the first test at Lord's on June 2.

New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson sets the field during the Cricket Twenty20 World Cup final match between New Zealand and Australia in Dubai, UAE, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Image: New Zealand's Kane Williamson will join up with the squad in the coming days after the birth of his second child

Batsman Devon Conway and seamer Tim Southee have already linked up with the squad after their IPL teams failed to make the playoffs.

Williamson, fast bowler Neil Wagner and batsman Daryl Mitchell are expected to arrive on Wednesday, on the eve of the second tour match against a Counties XI team in Essex.

Days one and four of the first match against Sussex were rained out, but stand-in skipper Tom Latham was happy he and three team-mates found time to post half-centuries.

"I think it was a really valuable couple of days for us here, especially from a bowling point of view -- that competitive nature of bowling in a game rather than in the nets -- and I think the batsmen got that as well from the match intensity," he said.